Judge’s verdict on Wales badger cull due next week

A decision on the planned badger cull by the Welsh Assembly is expected to be announced late next week.

The challenge by the Badger Trust to the proposed cull is being considered by Justice Lloyd-Jones at the High Court in Swansea, having heard evidence by the Badger Trust and the Welsh Assembly government.

The Badger Trust has sought the judicial review because it would like the TB Eradication Order (Wales) quashed.

According to the Trust’s chairman David Williams: “There is simply no scientific basis for slaughtering badgers in the belief that it will significantly reduce the spread of bovine TB.”

In a statement, the Welsh Assembly government commented: “it is now up to the court to decide.”

Brian Walters, vice-president of the Farmers Union of Wales said: “The epidemic is ripping families and communities apart, driving people to the very edge and costing the lives of tens of thousands of cattle each year in Wales alone.”

The cull planned to start in an area of 111 square miles in north Pembrokeshire and adjoining parts of Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire at the end of April or early May.